Trigeminovascular stimulation in conscious rats

INTRACISTERNAL infusion of capsaicin was used to induce intracranial trigeminovascular stimulation in conscious rats. Both behaviour and trigeminal nucleus caudalis c-fos expression were examined. Exploratory behaviour was dose-dependently reduced and different types of behaviours were induced with various doses of capsaicin. Head grooming and scratching show that intracranial activation of trigeminal afferents can be referred as extracranial trigeminal stimulation. Analysis of behaviour exhibited during trigeminovascular stimulation may provide a powerful tool to study effects of central acting anti-migraine drugs.